


A New Year, A New Hope

by retrovertigo (ellameno)



Series: The Great Fire [6]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Backstory, Bonding, Caretaking, Developing Friendships, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Families of Choice, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Holidays, Hurt/Comfort, Insomnia, Kindred Spirits, Loss, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Years, Prophetic Visions, Robot/Human Relationships, Sick Character, Slow Burn, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 03:37:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9104974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellameno/pseuds/retrovertigo
Summary: A holiday season with new friends ends, but leaves Nora with a chill and a vision.





	

        The start of a new year didn’t mean much to Nora. After being hurled two centuries into the future, time no longer felt real. If you asked her the date, she’d be damned if she could give the right answer; either ten or even two-hundred years off.

        The only thing that truly kept Nora grounded in this surreal world where the new friends she’d made. A support system unlike one she’d ever had before. She and Nate had been cordial with their pre-war neighbors, but it was nothing like this. They weren’t greeted by the populus as they stepped outside in the morning, nor did a suburb _ever_ share meals at a community table. Sanctuary was now more like living in a big family, where each member owned their own house instead of merely a room.

        Perhaps this was one of the few positive changes of the new era; people finding a new sense of community, invisible borders between neighbors nonexistent. The new residents of Sanctuary Hills were much different, diverse -- some not even human -- but all united under a single cause; to make the world more hospitable.

        People came and went as they pleased, but they’d all made a pact to meet tonight. It was still a special day in the Commonwealth even centuries later; New Years Eve.

        Preston and his Quincy refugees, along with Codsworth and Curie, helped with the party setup, being already stationed in the cul-de-sac. Piper and Nick showed up early with Ellie in tow, apparently insistent she not be left behind this time. (Nat remained in the ballpark under the care of the Rodriguez's, as Piper didn't know how raucous the company may get). MacCready the ex-mercenary, and the famed cage-fighter Cait stumbled down the road from the gas station across the bridge, seemingly already intoxicated. Then followed the ghoul Mayor Hancock, ditching his usual depraved Goodneighbor bash because he quote “craved variety”.

        Though under the pretenses of a celebration, no one arrived feeling particularly excited. In the beginning it was almost as festive as a wake. Everyone appeared tense, preoccupied with their own goals and reflecting on how the increasingly perilous world had affected them over the year. How it may change them in the next, looming quite visibly in the distance; one final sunset of 2287. Still, they all seemed to think it was important to be together for such an occasion.

        Nora had suggested fireworks to lighten the mood, which was hastily vetoed by both Preston and Nick, worried it would draw too much attention to the young settlement. The always handy Sturges quickly whipped up an alternative; sparklers. The novelty of the gleam, and the increasing amount of alcohol in their system, turned the mood from somber to cautiously optimistic.

        Hancock raised a toast to Nora, citing her as the common thread between all of them. Cait drunkenly added that the Sole Survivor was the most interesting thing that had happened to the Commonwealth. Everyone agreed. Nick suggested she was possibly _the best_. More agreement. Nora was red-faced and flattered, but didn’t feel worthy of the comments. What had she’d done of note, except accidentally wake up?

        At Ellie’s suggestion they each made a wish for the new year, symbolically passing the last sparkler around a circle. Even the most cynical members were too tipsy to abstain from the ritual.

        Once it reached Nora’s hand it fizzled out. She worried that it was a bad omen, to which the group assured her it was good luck.

        Her wish still lingered on her lips; she wanted to be home.

        After being distracted for a time by Sturges and Cait arm wrestling, she glanced down at her PipBoy. The year had switched over. _2288._ A thought struck her mind that caused a sick feeling to pool in her stomach; There was no one to kiss in celebration. Sometimes she forgot that Nate wasn’t merely off on deployment, but gone _forever,_ and his mortal remains so close. The hairs prickled on the back of her neck and she swooned a bit, not from alcohol but from the sudden flood of grief.

        Nora felt something firm around her arm and chest, that steadied her, then pulled her back slightly. It was Nick, seemingly reading her thoughts as if he knew all too well. _Right._ Though he’d been vague she knew that he’d lost someone, violently, just like her.

        She leaned against him and exhaled her tension. The accumulative loss still hurt terribly, but she knew the synth’s sturdy body and mind would be there to catch her when the pain became too much.

        “Happy New Year,” Nick said softly into her ear.

        She saw Piper and Ellie smiling at her from across the way, and felt herself smiling too.

        ----

        By 2 a.m. Ellie had already passed out in what used to be Shaun’s room, actually having to be carried to bed by her boss. According to Nick and Piper, this was nothing new; she couldn’t hold her liquor, but still stubbornly drank like a fish.

        Apparently Piper didn’t fare too well either, suddenly getting sick to her stomach after too many snack cakes and competitive shots with Cait, and joined Ellie in the house. Nick made a quip about the girls ‘finally getting a room’, though as with most of his asides Nora wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

        Preston bid them goodnight, and the rest of his Quincy clan soon followed. Marcy was in a good tipsy mood and even hugged Nora, wishing her the best. Probably the nicest thing she’d get out of her for an entire year.

        MacCready, Cait, and Hancock invited Nora back to the Red Rocket for what they called the ‘after party’, but she had to pass. Since having Shaun her own tolerance had depleted... and throughout the night she was feeling suspiciously more and more worn out. Chest icy, rattling as if she’d ran a marathon. Nick shooed the partiers off citing the cold would be hard on her health. She waved back at them and he protectively took her inside, past the room of snoring girls, and then into her own bedroom.

        “I’d be a terrible host to leave such a mess,” she said woozily as Nick tucked her in.

        “Leave the clean-up to me and the other bots,” Nick replied, before turning out the lantern. “You just sleep tight.”

        ---

        That night, despite being so exhausted, sleep evaded her. Her face was hot, and it throbbed like a drum behind her eyes. In the moments she did doze off, she had awful dreams. Vivid nightmares, too real to simply cast from her mind.

        At one point she swore her dear Nate shook her awake, asking why she’d abandoned him and Shaun. She wept as she told him over and over she hadn’t abandoned anyone; she was still working on the case.

        _“Then why was he raised by them instead of us?”_ Nate cried.

        _“Who?”_ she sobbed.

        _“Them!”_   Nate repeated.

        “Why are you crying, sweetheart?” she heard another voice say.

        She opened her eyes and blinked away hot tears. At first her blurring vision couldn’t see anything in the dark, but then Nick’s eyes glowing back at her came into focus.

        “I... I’m having nightmares again,” she said, her voice surprisingly hoarse.

        “I’m sorry,” Nick said softly. “Can I get you anything?”

        “Another blanket?” she asked, feeling the winter permeating her bones.

        “Sure thing,” he replied, stepping out of the room.

        Nora remembered what her grandfather once told her; the first dream of the new year was the omen of what was to come. She prayed it was just an old superstition, though Mama Murphy’s cryptic fortunes were starting to make Nora believe in such divination. Then she remembered her dream from her previous New Year’s Eve; War and fire.

        The nerves shooting through her quelled as she felt a blanket being draped over her, then the bed compress slightly as Nick sat beside her. He ran his hand over the covers, as if he was trying to warm her and soothe away her sadness at the same time. She sniffled. Whichever his intention, it was doing the trick.

        “You’re not alone anymore. I’m here, kiddo,” he said gently, “And you have so many friends out here now. We all care about you.”

        She let out a shaky breath, feeling the heat surround her, and the drowsiness suddenly sweeping in as she felt secure and grateful.

        “Thanks Nick,” she whispered before drifting off.

        ---

        She awoke to laughter outside, and the sun filtering through the curtains into her eyes. Her husband’s name escaped in a gruff exhale while she tried to reorient herself. She squinted hard as she heard footsteps travel from the window to her bedside.

        It was as if she’d been hit by a truck. She coughed into her pillow, and it was like sandpaper in her throat. Her head still felt heavy, almost buzzing.

        “It’s two in the afternoon, my dear,” a voice said.

        She looked over her shoulder and Nick was leaning in the doorway, arms crossed, appearing more concerned than critical. _Right._ She was still here. Two centuries displaced.

        “We were gonna wait for you before heading out, but then your sweet freckly face never showed,” he said playfully as if he was trying to hide his worry. He tilted his head. “You alright? You feeling a lil’ under the weather?”

        “Yeah, my head’s so foggy I didn’t even know what year it was.”

        “‘88, FYI. It takes me awhile to adjust too. Always writing the wrong date.” Nick chuckled. That wasn’t quite what she meant, and she suspected he knew.

        “I thought this was a hangover at first, but it’s different,” she said, clearing her throat. “I think I'm coming down with something.”

        “Goodness, I’m just surprised you went so long without catching anything out here. Especially with your lowered constitution,” he added, referring to the mole rat bite that had infected her.

        “You guys have a cure for radiation but not the common cold, huh?” she joked, sitting up.

        “Well let's hope that's what it is.”

        “Hmm?”

        “Technically you're new around here so... you may not have built up immunities to whatever things we have now-a-days.”

        “Oh thanks Nick, that's comforting,” she scoffed.

        “I'm a detective, not a scientist, I could be wrong,” he quipped, though seemed a bit sheepish.

        “You guys leaving?” she sniffled.

        “Yeah, I’d rather the girls get back before it gets too late. At least one of us has to be there to keep tabs on Natalie,” he said, looking at the ground. “But uh, if you’re really coming down with something, I'll stay with you if you like.”

        Her cheeks flushed slightly. “Oh you don't have to do that.”

        “Hey, being sick alone is miserable... and I can't catch anything from ya.”

        “What about Ellie? Will she be OK?”

        “Oh, you know Piper’s as plucky and dangerous as a reporter can possibly be. And even Ellie’s not so bad with a pistol. If they get a move on I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

        “If you pay MacCready a few caps I’m sure he’d gladly escort them too,” she laughed, though it hurt her chest. “And he’s a terrible negotiator.”

        “Well I think even if Piper _couldn’t_ handle herself, she wouldn’t be caught dead hiring a _merc_.”

        “ _Ex-_ merc.”

        “Ex- _gunner_ maybe, but a gun-for-hire is still a merc, as far as I’m concerned,” Nick scoffed, and then gave a small smile. “Either way, they’ll be fine.”

        “You’ll... really stay with me?”

        “Well why not? Otherwise I’d worry about you. You know me,” he said, eyes flickering down to his feet.

        A harsh cough forced itself from her lungs.

        “Uh oh,” she wheezed.

        “Mmhmm. I’ll try to concoct something to soothe that cough of yours, how bout that?”

        ---

        After tossing around in her bed for a spell she decided any more sleep was a lost cause.

        “Oh, you didn’t have to _get up_ ,” Nick said as she finally lumbered into the living room.

        “Nah being closer to the fire will be better. Kinda wish I could bring it into my room, but it forces me to get out of bed at least.”

        “Sorry it’s taking me awhile -- I asked Curie for help, and your neighbors for some spices and whatnot.”

        “Spices?”

        “Cinnamon specifically.” He brought her the cup. “Don’t blame me if it tastes horrible, I couldn’t test it.”

        It was too hot to drink so she let the vapors waft over her aching face. Her vision blurred in and out as she noticed every throb and pang in her muscles and wondered why the hell the year had to start in such a way.

        The girls popped their head in to say goodbye, but were scared to come any closer.

        “C’mon now,” Nick chided, “She’s got a cold, not the bubonic plague.”

        Still they resisted and blew fond kisses instead.

        “Apparently Marcy Long’s had the sniffles for a few days too,” Nick informed her once they left.

        “Great. I finally got a hug and it had to be from patient zero,” Nora hissed.

        “Yeah.” Nick chuckled. “Mystery solved, I guess.”

        Shortly after, there was a fuss outside, over what Nora could only assume was a caravan dropping by. Any other day she would have flew out the door with fervor and her caps stash in hand, but it was as if gravity had her firmly pinned to the couch.

        Nick tousled her hair as he walked behind her, seemingly heading towards the commotion. She couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore, the task of keeping them focused too taxing on her pounding head.

       Soon she heard Nick whistling a tune as he came back into the house, and soft clatter as he set things on her kitchen counter. She took a breath.

        “I got you some groceries, hun,” he said, as if knowing the question she was about to ask.

        “You didn’t have to _buy_ me anything...” she said, though feeling immensely grateful.

        “Ah, I’ll just take it out of your paycheck,” he teased.

        She opened her tired eyes and saw him peering back at her.

        “You look miserable,” Nick said.

        “I feel miserable,” she replied, voice cracking.

        Nick gave a sympathetic chuckle, like he was watching a small animal struggling in an adorable fashion.

        “Here. Got these from Carla.” He handed her a bottle. “They're two-hundred years old so they might just be a sugar pill at this point, but I don’t think they’d hurt.”

        She looked at the label. They seemed to be chewable cold shortening supplements rather than medication. She’d risk it, popping one into her mouth.

        “I’ll tell ya, there’s a lot of things I miss about being human, but sickness is not one.”

        She picked her drink off the side table, wanting to get the papery taste left over from the ancient pill out of her mouth. The beverage was strange and almost thick, but it coated her dry throat pleasantly.

        “You need a robe, don’t you?” Nick said a she tried to drink her tea remedy without the blanket slipping off.

        “I had one, but after two-hundred years of being exposed it disintegrated,” she mumbled against the ceramic.

        “You hungry? You skipped breakfast and dinner...”

        “Kinda, yeah.”

        He wrapped her in more blankets, and knelt in front of her.

        “Then you get cozy and warm, and I’ll make you supper, hmm?”

        “You don’t have to-”

        “Please. Indulge me,” Nick said softly. She sniffed and nodded lethargically. “Thanks.”

        She didn’t know why _he_ was thanking _her_ , but Nick had his mysteries, and his personal details that took a lot for him to divulge. He’d spent a long time struggling with the specifics of his predicament, and she respected it enough to not pry.

        “You happen to have a can opener in here?” Nick asked.

        “Yeah, it should be in a drawer.”

        “Good. Didn’t want to resort to the other option.”

        “What’s the other option?” she inquired, turning to look at him.

        “When I was a newer bot I could crush a can like it was a ball of paper.”

        She swallowed hard, never before considering the power behind Nick’s deft but gentle hands.

        “Yeah, kinda scary. Took a lot of calibrating.”

        “My grandma broke a coffee cup with her grip alone, so I’m used to old people with hulk hands.”

        “Well, sounds like my kind of woman,” he laughed. “Is she the one you were named after?”

        “Yeah. And she raised me.”

        “Oh. _Oh_ so _that’s_ why you got your name confused.”

        “Yep.”

        “Why, may I ask, did she raise you? Your parents not around?”

        “My parents were reckless, rebels. I was raised with a more strict hand.”

        Nick was quiet for a moment, as if mulling over a response.

        “How do you feel about that?” he asked hesitantly. “Not, uh, having your folks there.”

        “Ah. They couldn’t take care of me anyway... Or rather, they decided I didn’t fit with the lifestyle they wanted.”

        “Your joking.”

        She shook her head.

        “Jeez I’m sorry.”

        “It’s OK. Nate told me our real family is the ones we choose, not the ones we’re born into.”

        A small smile crossed his lips. “Wise words. I think me and him woulda got along.”

        “Yeah. I’d hope so,” she replied. Nora could almost hear her husband’s laugh echoing in her head, imagining him teasing her for being swept away on an escapade with a film noir trope -- not to mention a robot.

        “Maybe this is a misfire of my old skills, but I take it you lived at home for quite a while.”

        “Yeah. ‘Til I got married, actually,” Nora said, clearing her throat. “My, um... my grandma died a few weeks after my wedding.”

        “I’m sorry,” Nick said in a tone like he was worried his small talk was distressing her.

        “Ah, she was tired of this world and the direction it was heading in.” Nora sighed, realizing the matriarch was more prophetic that any could’ve imagined. “My cousin said she could finally let go knowing I was in good hands, and she didn't have to take care of me.”

        “Did they always make you feel like a burden?” Nick asked.

        She shrugged, a bit surprised Nick had pinpointed it so well -- though he _was_ a detective.

        “Well, don’t ever think that you are,” Nick said, shooing off her creeping feeling of inadequacy. “You’re a smart and capable woman. And anyone who looks after you is glad to do it. Me included.”

        Nora felt grateful, and a tad melancholy, Nick’s adamant reassurance echoing things her late husband used to tell her.

        “Here. Canned soup --- _And before you say it_... I’m an amazing chef, I know.” He smirked.

        She laughed as she accepted the bowl. Her meal warmed her chest almost as much as Nick’s companionship did. And there was a comfort in the idea that her Nate could rest easy knowing that someone else had taken the reigns, even if it was so little as heating food when she could barely keep her head up.

        After she ravenously downed her soup he took on Codsworth’s old role of dishwashing. She wondered if Nick was living vicariously through her, playing house by cleaning up the kitchen. By his initial reaction to her home Nora was certain their pre-war selves had similar residential aspirations, but he was now stuck in what in their time would be considered a shanty town in the middle of Fenway Park.

        She pinched the bridge of her nose as the pounding faded in and out of her stuffy head. What she wouldn’t give for a proper dose of cold medicine. Nick hissed something under his breath.

        “Everything OK?” she asked.

        “Peachy.” Nick sighed, obviously discontent.

        “You don’t need to clean, Nick, I technically have a butler.”

        “I think he lives next door now,” Nick quipped, referring to how the bot hovered around Sturges like an excited pup seeking a task.

        “They’re besties,” Nora laughed.

        Nick ambled over cautiously. The way he moved was slightly strange and she could sense hesitancy in his demeanor. She tilted her head as if imploring him to speak.

        “Ah, mind if I sit next to ya?” he asked.

        She replied with a tired smile, patting the cushion beside her.

        “It’s just... actuators lockin’ up. Don’t wanna fall over like a tree.” He sat down with a creak that startled both of them. “ _Yikes,_ alright then. I know I said I love the cold, but I guess with the snow coming back this year it’s doin’ a number on _me_ too.”

        “Misery loves company, right?” she said, feeling a bit winded with every word.

        “Well I do have a lotta fun being miserable with you.”

        She chuckled and felt the gravity start to weigh her down once more. It pushed her towards Nick a bit, and she didn’t have the strength to fight it. Though, the way he allowed her body to conform against his showed he didn’t mind anyway.

        “You’re really warm,” she said with surprise.

        “Sorry, sometimes the workings in my core run hot. It bothering ya?”

        “No it’s _nice_ ,” she replied, tucking her legs up off the floor, and impulsively cozying up to her new heater.

        Her ear against Nick’s shoulder, she could hear something whirring quietly; a resonant hum. A reminder that even though he was mechanical he was present and had a life force. In this age that seemed off-kilter like a dream, he was real, and near, and he was her closest friend.

        She felt sleepy, in a pleasurable way, unlike the worn exhausted kind she was used to during the past months.

        “I might doze off,” she mumbled, no longer able to keep her eyes open.

        “You... want me to leave?”

        “Stay,” she breathed. “I’m comfortable.”

        Somehow, despite her cold, this day was a fresh start. She was no longer adrift in a new time, fighting desperately to get back to the life she once knew. She would float with the current, in a boat full of new friends, a new family, towards a shore where they’d make a home together.

        And in her first nap of a new year she had a dream. Where everything was warm and bright, and she held Shaun tightly, though he was older. Nick was there, still, even though their case together had been long closed. So was a man she didn’t yet recognize, with graying hair, and a baby in his arms. Slowly more new faces surrounded them. There were people she hadn’t met but knew one day would mean the world to her. A family she’d be proud to call her own.

        Perhaps this was the true omen. Life would go on. And one day she would be just as happy in this new life as in her old.

**Author's Note:**

> Taking a little break now that this seasonal stuff is done. I've almost been writing non-stop since NaNo. We'll get into the meat of things soon, i.e. the things I started writing back in May. Every one of you who has left me a comment has really made me feel so much better about putting my writing out there (otherwise I'd just hide it away from the light of day) and you honestly don't know what a boost it is to hear from you. I feel humbled that some of the more personal themes resonate with you and can be of some comfort. This year was rough and I hope to be a warm lantern of light in the dark unknown. Stay strong, I'll be here, fighting too.
> 
> I'll be trying to update more [art blog stuff](http://tommytonebender.tumblr.com/) as well, that's my stupid New Years resolution. (Also see my side bar there for other deeeeets).


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